2nd annual BRP climb report

Last weekend's gathering at Bob Wray's 40-acre farm in southwestern Virginia will probably be remembered in treeclimbing history as the "Pig-out on the Parkway."

The climbing was great, the weather was fantastic and the Saturday night treeclimbers' banquet was just plain awesome. There were huge snack platters, salsas and chip dips, cakes (including one Pineapple Upside Down Cake made on the spot by Virginia's own Jay "Kernsloth" Veronivitch in his portable dutch oven), apple pies, almond pies, tossed salads, steaming hot baked potatoes, and the main attraction -- perfectly grilled fillets of king mackerel.

It apparently took a great effort for most of the treeclimbing diners to shove their way back from the picnic table that was set up under a canopy in the woods, but nobody complained. In fact, a few minutes later Harry Barnhurst from Pennsylvania managed to make the late-night climb 70 feet up to his nesting spot in a treeboat in a huge tulip poplar.

It was the first time Harry had spent the night in a tree, and he was still there when the other camper-climbers began to stir the next morning. He said the view of the stars, when the sky cleared after midnight, was almost unbelievable.

The second annual Blue Ridge Parkway Climb had started on Friday, Oct. 8, with Harry and Bob scaling another huge hardwood which overlooks the famous Blue Ridge Parkway that runs in front of Bob's farm.

Other climbers -- including me, Kernsloth and Jim "Jim W." Wilcox from northeastern Virginia -- arrived later in the day. Peter Hedin, normally from Atlanta but currently working in Richmond, finally showed up about 9 p.m. Bob's favorite four-legged companions, the dogs Brownie and Big Foot, were on hand to greet all the climbers.

Peter drew a large audience when he began to set up his "homemade" version of a sleeping platform that he built from a folding Belgian army stretcher, assorted straps and a pair of tarps.

The campsite was set up in the middle of a large stand of rhododendrons, mature hardwoods that were 80-90 feet tall, and white pines 90-100 feet tall. The stand of trees bordered Bob's big mountaintop meadow and his half-acre pond. Excellent climbing trees were just outside the doors of everybody's tents.

Saturday -- the main day for climbing for most participants -- was nearly perfect, with a partly cloudy sky and temperatures in the low 70s. The first yellow and red tints of fall were already visible on some of the trees. Everybody made at least two climbs on Saturday, and several got in a third.

Kernsloth and Jim W., who were still fairly new to recreational treeclimbing, managed to pick up several techniques while they twice scaled a huge tulip poplar on the edge of the treeline. Their tree had a phenomenal view of the rolling Virginia countryside.

After breakfast Sunday, everybody walked across the big meadow to Bob's house to view a new documentary on treeclimbing that was put together by a pair of Birmingham, Ala.-based filmmakers and to check out Bob's photographs of last winter's treeclimbing expedition to Isla Colon in the Republic of Panama, and a trip Bob made over the summer with a group of professional arborists to climb the huge redwoods in northern California.

Nearly everybody got in at least one more climb on Sunday before packing up the campsite. Harry, with an eight-hour drive up Interstate 81 to the Philadelphia area ahead of him, was the first to leave. By 3 p.m., the second annual Blue Ridge Parkway climb was over.

This is just to add to what Bill said. Sorry if some of it is redundant but hey its always good to have another point of view and what a view!!!!

WOW! What an Outstanding Weekend:Take Two. This is my second time down to the Blue Ridge Parkway Climb-In and I will tell you that the beauty of Bob’s place is surpassed only by his hospitality. Bob, thank you once again for sharing your home and yourself with us. The weather was as good as could be and so was the food, but more on that later.
I was lucky enough to get there early on Friday so I got to climb with Bob before anyone else arrived. We picked a tree we could see the BRP from and see anyone coming in. Ended up we did see Kernsloth coming, we recognized him as a climber by the big shot in the back of his pick-up, kind of a give away. We were climbing for about three hours and I got up to about 85ft. which is a personal high for me. The only problem, and its not really a problem, is that climbing with Bob made me realize just how slow and inefficient my climbing technique is. Bob is just so fluid in his movement and I…well am not so fluid. It was comfortable climbing with him in the same tree and I think that helped me climb higher and still be comfortable. In case you can’t tell, heights have always been, well a challenge for me. I am used to climbing alone and will tell you that for me having that other climber in the same tree worked to keep my mind off the height issue.

After coming down and meeting Kernsloth, Wild Bill arrived on the scene. It was good to see Bill again and, but after some time catching up we found out that Joe was back down in Panama and wouldn’t be there. I think that we missed out on some good Joe stories around the campfire, but I am glad that his services are in demand down there. That can only be good for the pastime that we all love. It also gave the rest of us some time to practice our campfire storytelling skills without the teacher being around making us nervous.

We started cooking our dinner during which Jim W. arrived and helped us finish some of the hot dogs (and mashed potatoes) that we had and we all just hung out a got to know each other. I for one was very happy to meet, or meet again, everyone that was there this weekend. I am up here in South Eastern PA and am not able to get down to the Sunday climbs etc so I know a lot of you from the website and it is great to be able to put a face to the names. And what a great bunch of guys.

Later that night while walking up to Bob’s house we found Knothead had already set up his portaledge. I hope he can get in here and tell us some specifics about it as I am afraid that I did not get to talk to him about it. I didn’t even know that it was his own design until Jim W told me. He arrived late and did not know that we were down in the woods but soon moved his site down with the rest of us.

We got up pretty early on Saturday and got to climbing around 0900 – 0930. We all went pretty much to whatever tree was calling to us and started making our way back around noon. In the mean time Bob put up his treeboat for me as I had (yes that is past tense) never seen one let alone stayed in one. The TIP was about 75 ft with the treeboat about 72 ft. Did I mention healthy respect for heights?? Well I decided to make my way up there during the day and get used to it before I spent the night so I started making my way up my sportline and with a pitch this long there was an awful lot of stretching going on and I was not too comfortable with it, so I switched to my Safety Blue. This stretched a bit too but I was more at ease with it. I will tell you that I have been that high before but this was the first time that it was in one pitch and there were a few spots where I had to talk myself through to get up there. What was cool was that everyone pretty much left me on my own and Bob even came over once to let me know it was ok if I didn’t get to sleep in it; no pressure. I did finally get up there and got into the tree boat and I even had to attach the cozy on the bottom. It is amazing how slow and deliberate my movements are when I am above my comfort level. I know that 75 ft for most of you is not much but hopefully this will bring back some memories of when it may have been. I did bring up my sleeping bag on this trip so it was one less thing to worry about at night.

Now comes the dinner, a feast really. We had a huge salad, celery and carrot sticks, cheeses, dip, a fantastic salsa that was marked hot and really was, baked potatoes, pick and peel shrimp, and Mackerel I think that it was King Mackerel but I called it Holy Mackerel. Everything was delicious and we had a good time. We even got to witness Knothead’s technique, using a plastic plate as a weapon against a Japanese Hornet. He was very accurate with that plate and knocked this flying menace right out of the sky. Big foot, one of Bob’s dogs, saw where it landed so I was able to pick it up and put it in the trash bin. Bob said that Brown Dog, his other dog, can snap them in midair and not get stung. This night he was not doing any of that as he was falling asleep on his feet. Brown dog was literally standing there with his eyes slowly closing and tilting to one side ready to fall over. If we were insecure we would have thought that we were just that boring. Kernsloth, while dinner was being prepared, was not idle; he made a delicious pineapple upside down cake in his dutch over which we all had for desert we each had half of the piece he originally cut for each of us (I still had to get back up the tree) and we were stuffed, we also still had the other piece for breakfast.

Well, it was time. I got encouragement from everyone as I was getting my harness on and getting ready. I even got some good last minute suggestions and they let me go off. Knothead said that he was watching my progress up the tree from the campfire. He was watching my little led flashlight as I didn’t need to turn on my headlamp until I got to the treeboat. I did make it up faster this time and pulled up the rest of my stuff, hung my gear bags on the tree and settled in for the night. What a fantastic night; it was overcast when I went to sleep and it was also warm. I woke up at about 3:30 am to a good breeze blowing as well as a cooler air and the best surprise was the starry sky. They were right there for me to see and what a sight they were. I stayed awake awhile but eventually drifted back to sleep waking up at 7:00am just when I wanted to. I phoned home to PA as my wife and daughters were going to be getting up and getting ready for my youngest daughter’s soccer tournament. Bob came to check on how I made out and congratulated me on this accomplishment. I have to admit it does feel good to push myself beyond some limit, but hey all of you treeclimbers know about that.

I came down and we had breakfast, I know that I had my second piece of pineapple upside down cake and even a piece of an Apricot-Walnut cake that was delicious. Hey maybe my slowness in climbing isn’t just my technique, hmmm. Sunday morning I was a little sore but I did want to get out and try some SRT. Bob spent some time with Jim W and I showing us the basics of the technique and I gave it try. I would like to give it a try again when I am fresher (Maybe next year). I was sore and I still had the eight hour drive to get home so I wasn’t putting too much effort in it.

I came down packed up the rest of my stuff and on the road just after Knothead did (about 1:15pm) and got home about 10:30pm

It was really a great weekend with a great bunch of guys climbing a great bunch of trees. For all of you that were planning to be there but couldn’t I hope to see you next year.

Peace Out,
Legolas

I was just about to post my comments on the Blue Ridge Parkway Outing and see that Bill has already started the thread. One of the things I found out about Bill this weekend is that he was a newspaper journalist. From his very descriptive writing here, my guess is that he was a good one. Fine job, Bill! You didn’t mention all the food though: how about the boiled shrimp, the veggie platter, the cheese, the . . . !

And now I see that Harry and Jay have posted. Well, I’ll post mine and then go read what they have to say.

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WOW!

You're sure to see several posts about this excellent event!

Bob's property must be about the best location in the world for climbing. I have walked through county parks, state parks/forests, and national parks/forests with my eyes looking upward in search of good climbing trees. Sometimes I can walk for a few miles and not see an appealing one. Now I know why: Bob has most of them on his property. I have never seen so many trees in one location that call out to be climbed.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is widely known as a beautiful area and Bob's property is adjacent to it. That alone speaks to its attractiveness. And what a house he has built! His attention to detail and craftsmanship are first class. That fine eye and careful exacting hand carry over to his climbing, both his philosophy of it and his practice of it.

Only six of us were there (which means that a few hundred of you should be shedding tears of sadness for not having been there, too). I checked the TCI membership list for the other five and see that they all are virtually “charter members;” their skill level shows it. I learned valuable information and techniques from each one of them. In the order in which they joined TCI, thanks so very much to Bob (“Bob in VA”), Harry (“Harry W. Barnhurst”), Bill (“Wild Bill”), Jay (“kernsloth”), and Peter (“Knothead”).

I watched Bob and Wild Bill climb and realized that I was in the presence of climbing greatness. If that is an exaggeration, it isn't by much, for they unquestionably are masters. I saw those two do things that would have made some of the contestants at the ISA competition (this past April in Annapolis) sit up (climb up?) and take notice.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to observe Peter's or Harry's climbing skills, but I have no doubt but that they are excellent, too. However, I definitely can speak for Peter’s creativity and craftsmanship: his version of the “Big Shot,” which he calls the “Cheap Shot,” and his tree-hangable answer to the “Portaledge” (using a military stretcher) are engineering marvels. And Jay (who has been my mentor) was as steady, competent, and helpful as always.

The participants were truly congenial, the weather was virtually perfect, and the food was scrumptious. We spent a lot of time sharing ideas and swapping war stories. Sitting around the campfire on Friday evening was particularly enjoyable. And if I told you about all the food we had for Saturday evening’s meal, you absolutely would not believe it! It’s a wonder any of us could climb on Sunday.

Although Bob supplied the feast for us on Saturday, I must mention that the hot dogs that Bill provided on Friday really hit the spot. “Plenty” was the word in this case, also: we had so many that even Bob’s delightful dogs, “Brown Dog” and “Bigfoot” could not finish them off. Oh, yes—Bill also brought along a new tree-climbing video for us to view.

I’m looking forward to the others writing of some of their experiences (maybe Harry’s night in the “Treeboat” at 70 feet?). I’m sure there will be pictures posted soon.

What a great time! Thanks a million, Bob!

:mad:Well I missed it! But only by miles.

Friday morning found me on I77 heading towards I81 on my way to a family wedding in NJ.

I watched as I had to pass right by Bob's exit. I'll admit it. I cried alittle (OK alot).

What's worse?
I think I passed Wild Bill on the way up. Talk about adding insult to injury.

We need dates Bob! I WILL NOT miss next year.

Crying (especially since it was a great time)

Icabod

The others have described the weekend pretty well. The only thing I can add is this (please write it down): If you EVER get an invitation to Bob Wray's place, CANCEL your other plans. His little slice of the Blue Ridge is as near to heaven as I am likely to see. The only problem is forcing yourself to stop and actually climb the perfect tree, knowing that there's one "even more perfect" a hundred yards down the trail, or up the hill, or just over the creek, or...

Next year for sure. I mean it. Do not miss the 3rd Annual BRP Climb.

Thanks so much for your hospitality, Bob.

Regards All,
-Knothead

:o

I know I told you guys I would pay you for some good reviews but I can't afford these!! so you are just gonna have to tell them what your really thought~
I cannot thank you all enough for driving those long distances to come and "hang out" with me and my pups for the weekend. I honestly don't think it could have been any better, the weather, the food (which I was really sweating since I an NOT a cook!) and the comradery. No arguments, no egos just a bunch of grown men reclaiming some of their childhood in the purest act of "play" that I can think of. We talked about how hard it would be come Monday to get back into the "rat race". Well, I drove to Meadows of Dan (4 miles on the BRP) to have lunch with a friend and I found it quite difficult. I don't know how you guys made it home, especially you Harry (who came from PA.) BTW Harry, I climbed back up the the tree boat to set my line and then climbed back up around 9:30 to spend the night. Don't know where I got the strength! You were right, the evening stars and especially the sun rise the next morning defied description. However, I decided that next year I am going to hang a homemade porteledge which I worked on designing last evening. Knothead I need to get some rigging information from you. I found a cot that I think is going to be perfect.
It is great sharing a sport that brings people together so completely. I was fortunate enough to spend a fabulous weekend with some wonderful people, both of which I will never forget. As Genevieve said, "I like myself when I climb trees"...me too.
Thanks again Jim, Peter, Jay, Harry and Bill, let's do it again next year!
Bob in VA.
ps: I forgot to show you the lower end of the property!! even more trees!

Sounds like a great time. Bob, let us know when you get the date worked out; you might end up with a bunch of Michigan climbers there!

Do any of you have pictures of the cot setups? I'd be interested in checking them out. We may be fabricating a portaledge, but if a cot would do it, that would be easier. Thanks!

Patrick